EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) Elias Petterson scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Thatcher Demko made 42 saves in his first NHL playoff start and the Vancouver Canucks staved off elimination by beating the Golden Knights 2-1 Tuesday night in Game 5 of their second-round series.
Western Conference top-seeded Vegas outshot Vancouver 43-17 and only cracked Demko once, on a highlight reel goal by defenseman Shea Theodore in the second. Brock Boeser also scored for the Canucks and got the primary assist on Pettersson’s goal by taking the shot the 21-year-old Swede deflected past Robin Lehner.
Because of Demko’s dominant performance in net and timely scoring, there will be a Game 6 on Thursday night at Rogers Place. The Canucks joined the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers as teams down 3-1 this round to force a Game 6.
The winner of this series will face the winner of Stars-Avalanche in the Western Conference final.
Vancouver went into the game seemingly at a major disadvantage with starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom out. There had been speculation Markstrom was hampered by an injury, though coach Travis Green earlier Tuesday would only say, ”he’s a competitor and warrior and as far as tonight, come to the game or tune in to the game to find out.”
Demko led the Canucks onto the ice for warmups, ending the mystery and thrusting the 24-year-old from San Diego into the biggest of pressure situations facing elimination. The Boston College product was more than up to the task, stopping 17 of 18 shots in the second period alone while his teammates only put four on Vegas’ net.
Theodore’s goal broke the ice 15:12 into the second, but Boeser scored his first of the series 24 seconds later to tie it. Pettersson’s seventh goal of the playoffs gave Demko the support he needed, and he stopped all shots the Golden Knights sent his way in the third to keep the series going.
NOTES: Defenseman Nick Holden returned to the Golden Knights lineup after missing Game 4, replacing Jon Merrill. … With Markstrom out, Louis Domingue was the Canucks’ backup goaltender.
UP NEXT
Game 6 of the series on Thursday.
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